House, Senate pass last minute bill

With the country over the fiscal cliff, Congress managed to pull together an eleventh hour compromise.

Carmen Bourlon

With the country over the fiscal cliff, Congress managed to pull together an eleventh hour compromise Tuesday evening.

This was passed 89-8 in the U.S. Senate, and passed with more than 217 votes in the U.S. House of Representatives just before 10 p.m. central time.

The bill allows for taxes to rise from 35 to 39.6 percent for those making more than $400,000, or couples making more than $450,000.

However, the bill did not address the spending cuts, which were also included in the fiscal cliff. These spending cuts could save the country trillions of dollars, but require cuts on many government programs.

These were left out of the bill to be brought up again in two months.

Another issue not addressed in the bill was the debt ceiling, which was reached Monday, according to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Geithner said in a letter written to Congress that he will begin taking “extraordinary measures,” but these would only stall the debt ceiling being reached by about two months.

After those two months, the Treasury would not have the legal authority to issue funds, including Social Security and other government jobs.

This is expected to be brought up later, potentially after the new Congress is seated Thursday.